I am going to first design and draw the object I wish to work on.
Once it is drawn, use a fine coatond of vaseline on the backside of the patterned copper and make sure to bend the corners so shen it is placed in to the melted pitch it will not shift as much when the copper is being worked. Make sure to let the pitch fully cool before starting to work.
This is my 3-D drawing of what I am trying to acheive with my repousse
Now with my pitch fully cooled, I will start to chase the outline of my puppy.
This is what it looks like after I worked the outline.
One this is done, heat the pitch and remove the copper piece. Now tuen it over and wipe off the vaseline. Add a fine layer to what is the back of your piece and turn the corners the opposite way. Heat your pitch and place the piece in and wait again for it to cool before starting the repousse.
Using the repousse tools, you will hammer the metal to raise and form the shape you want to achieve.
If you notice that the metal is not moving much, your piece will need to be annealed.
As you may notice from the hammering, the piece is starting to curve.
Once your piece has been annealed, flatten the edges with a rawhide hammer.
Make sure that every time you place your piece in the pitch that you put the small amount of vaseline on the side that is setting into the pitch. If you don't, you will have pitch stuck to the back of your metal that will have to be torched off. Trust me, this is not easy to get off!
This is my set up when working.
Here I put Midas Black Max on my metal so it would turn black in all of the textured areas of my piece.
Here I buffed off the raised areas to show the texture better.
More to Come!